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Exsterno Exsterno is an ancient sprawling continent with varied climate and terrain, home to a wide number of creatures such as humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, dragons , dragonborn, kobolds, and other aberrant creatures. Several of the races inhabiting Exsterno, including humans, elves, dragons and the Astral, were not native to the land, having migrated to Exsterno in centuries past. Terrain The terrain of Exsterno varies. The White Irons, in the north, is a region that is mountainous and almost entirly icebound with exception to large fields of permafrost. The Ashlands, in the south are dominated by volcanic lavafields, scrubland, fertile swaths of farmland, while the southeastern areas of the terrain is dominated by a massive desert known as the Scablands. Sterling Fields, at the heart of Exsterno, is heavily forested and home to rich riverbeds, grassy fields and hills, an unnaturally cold region known as the Everfrost, and patches of swampland. The Kinglands in the western areas are primarily flat grassland and dominated by oat and wheat fields. the Tira Plains in southwestern Exsterno is almost all flat grassland and deep grassy valleys surrounded by rocky shoreline. Provinces *The White Irons - This northern, snow-covered, and mountainous region contain some of the tallest mountains in all of Exsterno. It is comprised mainly of icy tundra, snow-ridden mountains terrain and cavernous ice fields. The White Irons are home to Frost Trolls, Snow Goblins, and Ice Foxxyns. However the White Irons still have a sizable population of Humans, Dwarves, Orcs, and Ogres. The White Irons are less urbanized than the rest of Exsterno, but the largest of cities, Burdina, does have sizable population. This realm is lorded over by the Silverforts. *The Ashlands - This province is located in the southern section of Exsterno. It has one of the largest mountains in all of Exsterno, Mount Yogan from which lava flows and helped craft the extensive tracts of lavafields, wind sculpted obsidian, and heavily eroded, uncultivable land with little vegetation. It is home to Fire Goblins, Ash Foxxyns, and a large population of Dark Elves and humans. This realm is lorded over by the Kilcrests. *The Scablands - This province is located in the southeastern region and extends deep into the continent. It is mostly arid desert and rocky badlands with a few oases serving as beacons of light and settled areas. The ruins of the Scablands rise from the sand by one blast of the unbounded wind and are covered by the next. Nothing in the desert lasts, but nothing dies forever. All the principalities and boundaries the nations have placed on the land dissolve under the moving sand, and few inhabitants can say where they are in the desert. It is home to Desert Goblins, Desert Trolls, Dust Foxxyns, and Drow. This realm is lorded over by the Moorcastles. *Sterling Fields - This province is mostly an expanse of forest and mountains. At its heart is the Jormur Valley, a vast plain enclosed by equatorial rain forests and the mysterious mountain range known as the Everfrost. Many rivers flow through this area, and as one ventures further south, the land slowly becomes increasingly sub-tropical. Sterling Fields is referred to in much of Exsterno as the Heartlands. It is home to Hearth Foxxyns, Swamp Goblins, Horned Trolls as well as a large population of Humans, Orcs, and the highest concentration of Ogres in all of Exsterno. It is ruled over by the Eightfist under the guidance of High Lord Gulveig Silverfist. *The Kinglands - This province is located on the western coast and extends deep into the mainland. It is mostly prairies and hilly grasslands though there are also several large uninhabited forest wilderness. The coasts are dominated by mangrove swamps and tropical rain forests, while heavy rainfalls nurture the temperate inland rain forests. The Kinglands are home to Goblins, Grassland Trolls, Grassland Foxxyns, and Wood Elves. This realm is lorded over by the Fallfays. *Tira Plains - This province in the south-western region of Exsterno is mostly covered in prairies and open areas covered with used largly for grazing, however there remain few scattered sections of cool forests, lakes, and valleys. the Tira Plains are home to Sea Foxxyns, Grassland Goblins, Hill Trolls, and High Elves. Tira Plains is lorded over by the Bywells. *All of these provinces are lorded over by the Aurora High King in conjecture with the ruling families as part of the Council of Five . Locations Exsterno Locations Races Classes Classes Enemies Enemies Characters List of Characters Items Deities Deities Planes Planes History The Xoriat Invasion In 0 AD Belashyrra and his daelkyr brethren opened a rift from the Xoriat into the Material Plane so powerful that it weakened the structure of the cosmos greatly, which allowed for the arrival of Bahamut and the Fall of Dragons later that day, the Astral Advent in 12 AD, and the opening of the Shadowfell in 213 AD. That day Exsterno's most powerful heroes fought them and with help from the Gatekeeper Druids were able to drive most of the daelkyr back to Xoriat, Belasyhyrra is one of six daelkyr that remained in Exsterno. From his Citadel of Lidless Eyes in the depths of the earth, Belashyrra waits for the lords of Xoriat to rise again. The Fall of Dragons Everything changed in the land after “The Fall of Dragons” in 0 AD—ab draconis, literally "after dragons"— when hundreds of fiery dragon eggs rained from the sky and landed all across the landmass—many hatched and dragon-kind of varying temperaments were unleashed upon Exsterno while others lay dormant to this day. The Astral Advent Following the Fall of Dragons came the arrival of an advanced race of beings known as the Astral in 10 AD culminating in the “Astral Advent”. Soon after a human by the name of Mauric Aurora (a close descendant of Aurora the Eclectic) garnered military support and fought a war with the Astral for 15 years (12 AD – 27 AD) eventually driving them underground where they cut out a niche and lived in relative peace. The Aurora Conquest Using the momentum of the war and in search of dragons with which to feed his addiction to Dragonblood Sklug he marched his army for 22 years (29 AD – 51 AD) and conquered the entire continent of Exsterno. In his quest he built up a large fortune by sacking cities and forcing them into the empire, as well as capture a dragon named Urrea which was being held captive by Orcs in Graaten (Now Ironlea) and finally unearthing two dormant dragon eggs—one in the Ashlands and one near what is now Moonhold. After his conquest Mauric founded the Gilded City located in the Kinglands as the Capital of Externo in 52 AD. Mauric Aurora died at the age of 77 (57 AD)—his goblet of wine spilled in his lap and a shard of Dragonblood stabbed into his neck. On the night of his death the two dragon eggs disappeared from their underground vault and Urrea was gone from his chamber. Mauric was seceded by his son Valkane. The Reign of Valkane Aurora Valkane first actions as the king were to reaffirm the empire. He started by founding Westheart (later renamed Valkane) to gain further footing into the Kinglands. He then changed the name of the Gilded City to Urrea in order to shed the connotation that he held the Kinglands in higher esteem than the other realms and replace it with the symbol of the dragon in order to gain respect from supporters and strike fear into the members of dissent and insurgence. His next action was the foundation of the Council of Five -a group dedicated to upholding order in each of the realms. Valkane gave each of his closest friends lordship over these realms and in turn gave himself the title of High King. The Council of Five’s founding members were; Derrick Bywell —a High Elf and Lord of the Tira Plains, Ien Fallfay —a Wood Elf and Lord of the Kinglands, Aera Moorcastle —a Drow and Lady of the Scablands, Garret Silverfort —a Human and Lord of the White Irons, and finally Clay Kilcrest —a Human and Lord of the Ashlands. Valkane had three children with his wife Arya. He had two sons, Klee and Frieman, and one daughter, Iola. Valkane died at the age of 68 in 93 AD and was seceded by his son Klee. A Gift to the Orcs During the reign of Klee Aurora he made a treaty with the Orcs that gifted them with land which they used to found the cities of Relyt and Draken. Klee never married even to his death at the age of 81 in 147 AD. He was seceded by his brother Frieman. The Astral Treaty of 151 AD Frieman Aurora ruled Exsterno for 12 years peacefully. During his reign Frieman signed the Astral Treaty of 151—a treaty with the Astral people allowing them to trade their goods above ground. Astral merchants brought their alien goods, including armor, weapons, technology and synthesized Sklug—a manufactured chemical component similar in potency to Dragonblood— from their underground factories and sold them all across Exsterno for a substantial profit. The Anti-Sklug Edict of 152 AD In 152 AD, Sklug import was 200 chests and its use was growing wildly out of control. The first Aurora anti-Sklug edict was issued in 152 AD, enacting severe penalties on the sale of Sklug shards and the opening of Sklug-smoking divans. Frieman had a son named Areth in 112 AD. Frieman died at the age of 72 in 159 AD and was seceded by his son Areth. The Orcsblood Sklug Scandal Areth Aurora’s reign is one of bittersweet accomplishments and scandal. He is known for his exploitation and slaving of Orc adults in order to formulate Orcsblood Sklug a crude mixture of Orc blood and Aether crystallized in iron vats. Orcsblood Sklug is the cheapest, lowest quality and most bitter to smoke. This derivative form of Sklug affects it user by making them blissful followed by a stint of depression—it also greatly shortens the lifespan of the consumer. Areth went so far as to hire mercenaries in order to kidnap Orc children and newborns from their parents and bring them to a series of underground dungeons he had built in order to manufacture the narcotic. When the public discovered of his treatment of the Orcs and his labyrinth of secret Sklug dungeons he went into his chambers and killed himself at the age of 76 in 188 AD with his Legendary Shadow Blade of Flame named Umbrik (later renamed Areth’s Bane) Areth had one set of fraternal twins; Routh and Arianna and another daughter Jamie. Areth was seceded by his son Routh. The Orc Shadow Even though the public learned of the expansive network of drug dungeons not all of them were found by Aurora military investigators. In a secret letter addressed to Arianna, Areth divulged the location of a secret room in the Aurora Castle that held all of the records and ledgers kept of both the locations and Orcish populations of these secret underground tunnels. She kept this information to herself and began to search for a way to keep the drug money flowing as her greed had long since overlapped her morality. She would disguise herself late at night and take a ferry from the Aurora Palace and into the heart of Urrea. there she would sit in underground saloons and beside the cesspools collecting information and asking the right people before she was directed to a young and rising star in the criminal Sklug ring. He was an Astral man by the name of Boronte of Valkane. She met with him and they discussed an agreement where Boronte would deal with the manufacturing and security sides of things in exchange for a slightly larger cut of the profits from the Sklug trade. Though skeptical Arianna eventually caved and decided it was best to start as soon as possible. Boronte, Boro for short, then began making his own connections and creating a viable system with both security and function in mind. Boro then hired the pit boss Mannoroth to oversee Sklug production and keep watch over the remaining Orc slaves. The money made from the enterprise made both Boro and Arianna vastly wealthy, though Arianna lived large it was never extravagant enough to truly dent her trove of gold and as she died in 185 AD without having children. Her remaining gold is likely never to be found, hidden exceptionally well from anyone who would seek to find it, though only Boro knows of its existence. The Orcsblood Reparations Routh Aurora had the difficult task of repairing relations with the Orcs and other unhappy members of the empire and so he decided to gift further land to the Orcs—which they used to construct Ecklane. He also paid 14 platinum ingots to each of the surviving Orc slaves and captured as many of the dungeon operators as possible and put them all to death. Finally he wrote a book which detailed his sorrow and apologized on behalf of his perturbed father and asked for forgiveness promising to better the land based on merit and peace and not their labor and pain. by 212 AD Synthetic Sklug import amounted to over 4,000 chests (256 tons) annually. In response Routh put out a second Anti-Sklug Edict with even stricter penalties in 219 AD followed by a third in 223 AD with the goal of ending the Sklug trade once and for all but Sklug synthesis and importation continued to increase. Routh had two daughters, Gabriel and Ruth, and one son, Rael. Routh died at the age of 74 in 233 AD and was seceded by his son Rael. Boronte's Web of Influence Boronte of Valkane now in the middle of his life was, at this point, secretly rich beyond what most realms of Exsterno were worth in total. Boro had reached a level of both fame and infamy throughout Exsterno and though he was almost always under harsh scrutiny because of rumors and whispers of his "possible Sklug empire" he continued to live as simply as possible so as not to attract even more attention. However, ever since the Anti-Sklug Edict had been enacted he had began to have to work extra hard and extra quiet to avoid the attention he was under. Boro realized he had both the means and the manpower to overtake much of Exsterno for himself. His agreement with Arianna Aurora, having long since faded along with her own corpse gave him the option to end the Aurora dynasty and take it over rulership for himself. However, he wanted the people to elect him as their leader rather than being hated by all as someone who publically bought the throne with iron and blood. He decided the best course of action would be to begin a grassroots movement by nudging a few key individuals in the right direction. He made anonymous donations to many militant and revolutionary secret societies including an Astral group known as the "Bright Hand" led by an astral named Xiuq, Boro hoped that by inspiring many groups that at least one of them would lead the charge against the Aurora Empire. When Boro believed he had brewed up enough anti-Aurora sentiment he anonymously and intentionally released several secret Astral Sklug dealing locations to Rael Aurora himself. This he hoped would be the catalyst of a war that would wipe the Aurora Dynasty from the face of Exsterno. The First Sklug War Rael Aurora had two sons, Reoul and Terran, and three daughters, Devan, Andra, and Cassia. He continued his father’s quest to end the Sklug Trade. With the drain of silver in order to capture and jail Sklug-runners and the growing number of the people becoming victims of the drug despite this effort, the High King Rael Aurora demanded action. Officials at the court, who advocated legalization of the trade in order to tax it, were defeated by those who advocated suppression. So, In 261 AD, Rael sent Dalir Fallfay to Crystal Gorge where he quickly arrested Astral Sklug dealers and summarily demanded that Astral firms turn over their stocks. When they refused, Dalir stopped trade altogether and placed the Astral residents under virtual siege, eventually forcing the merchants to surrender their Sklug shards to be destroyed. In response, the Astral Union sent expeditionary forces led by Xiuq, a strong mercenary and former scholar, which ravaged the Kinglands coast from 262 AD to 264 AD ending when the Aurora Palace was overrun and Rael Aurora was killed at the age of 58 in 264 AD and was seceded by his son Reoul. The Second Sklug War Reoul Aurora then became High King and ruled from Wolfkeep. Xiuq proclaimed himself the Astral King and ruled over the Kinglands from his palace with his concubines while the people of the land fled or stayed and lived in poverty. In 279 AD, after years of gathering aid and building his army up once more, Reoul launched the Second Sklug War and for four years reclaimed lost lands. The war ended when the Aurora army dug tunnels under Urrea and blew up the walls. Then Xiuq and his followers were massacred at their height with the annual import of Sklug now at 70,000 chests (4,480 tons). After the Second Sklug War, the Astral Union and the Aurora Empire met at Fallfay and dictated the terms of settlement. The Treaty of Fallfay not only made further Sklug trade illegal, but also had the Astral Union renounce all claims on Aurora territory, unilaterally fixed tariffs at a low rate, and offered the Sanctae a seat at the Council of Five which the Astral Union refused. Reoul had two sons in his lifetime, Markus and Jareth. Reoul died at the age of 85 in 327 AD and was seceded by his son Markus. The Reign of Markus Aurora Markus rule was met with high approval ratings though his armies were constantly attacked and raided by rebels led by an extremist Astral group known as the Sklug Thugs whose aim was to pressure the kingdom into lifting the ban on Sklug they gathered support by offering members free Sklug and the promise to one day gain control of a dragon in order to produce vats of pure Dragonsblood Sklug. Markus went and contracted a group of highly skilled Mercenaries known as the Nightflame Assassins and promised them 250 Platinum ingots and 3 satchels of gemstones in order to destroy the Sklug Thugs. It was only a few months later that the Sklug Thugs operations had been infiltrated and all members of the gang had been found with Nightflame arrows buried in their hearts. Markus Aurora had one son Rellan and one daughter Ariel. Markus died at the age of 78 in 340 AD and was seceded by his son Rellan. Orc Revival ' ' Disappointing by the failure of his Sklug Thugs and having lost much of his fortunes fighting and helping to stock and supply Xiuq and his army during the First and Second Sklug War Boro decided that it was time for desperate measures to be deployed if he ever hoped to reclaim the former might of his fortune and drug empire. Hearing of Boro's troubles Mannoroth told Boro of an ancient ritual that could help. The plan was to use the last of Boro's wealth to feed, arm, and train the male Orc slaves and use them as their army after forcing all of them to drink a powerful arcane bloodpotion that would warp their minds to Mannoroth's commands. However an Orc named Garrosh Hellscream began to silently gather a following which he hoped to use to destroy Mannoroth and free them of their chains. On the day of the ritual Mannoroth called the Orcs to beat their shields and send forth from the crowd a leader they would follow "to victory!" the masive gathering did just that and Hellscream stepped forward beneath the dual moons and took a rune carved bone goblet of Mannoroth's own enchanted blood. Mannoroth's minion Gul'dan then spoke saying; Gul'dan: "Drink Hellscream. Claim your destiny. You will all be conquerors." Then just as Hellscream was about to drink the bloodpotion he turned to the minion and spoke to him Garrosh: "And what, Gul'dan, must we give in return?" Gul'dan lifted his hood and looked at Garrosh with his red eyes and said: "Everything." Garrosh poured the bloodpotion out on the altar and just as Gul'dan was getting angered the rumbling chuckle of Mannoroth washed over the silent crowd. Mannoroth spoke "You, would reject this gift?" Garrosh turned and looked up at the massive pit boss who continued to address him "And did you bring these mongrels here, just to watch you die?" Hellscream said nothing just continued to stare defiantly into Mannoroth's glowing green eyes as the Orcs to his back whom Mannoroth had severely underestimated began unleashing massive fiery missiles into the sky in their direction, knocking Gul'dan to the cobblestones. one of Hellscream's most trusted followers, Draenor, then called for one of the Orcish spike ball war machines mounted with a pair of balistas. Raenor called for the balistas to be fired with a resounding "NOW!" A chain attached to two iron javelins was fired from pistons adorned in human skulls and pinned Mannoroth's wings to a stone ruin wall and kept the rest of his body bound with chains no matter how hard he struggled. Then just when Hellscream thought he had trapped Mannoroth the pit boss was able to slice the chains with his bladed staff and fire a green eldritch blast. The large bolt of energy missed Hellscream but struck the ground and rattled the spinning spike war machine. Hellscream ran back as several more eldritch blasts rained around him. he made it to the Spinning wheelspike machine and raised it from broken earth and fired it at Mannoroth. The spinning wheel of death sparked and moved with great speed at its target before carrening off of a stone ramp and exploding at Mannoroth's feet creating a great wall of fire. Through the fire and the flames leapt Hellscream wielding a massive iron axe which he fell between the massive demon's green eyes. Mannoroth twisted in agony as his body tore itself apart even as Hellscream was tackled to safety by his closest friend Raenor. The battlefield lay charred and Mannoroth's blood spread like a spiderweb across the earth making veins of neon green rivulet across stone and soft loam where Gul'dan still lay. Raenor kneeled by his side as Gul'dan said to him that "This was not our destiny" who replied that "Times change." before crushing Gul'dan's windpipe silently and striding over to Hellscream's bloody axe and tossing it back to Hellscream. Hellscream turned back to the remaining Orc soldiers and said "We will never be slaves! But we will be conquerors." and thus the slave orcs after over a century of captivity were free of Boro's influence. Boro went into hiding for several years though he rebuilt his empire on Kobold, goblin and hobgoblin blood and iron later on. The Expansion of the Aurora Empire Rellan Aurora’s reign is marked by his desire to expand the Aurora Empire further and with more power in the realms. He began this with a major enlisting of more soldiers to his army and the construction of several fortresses and castles across the land as well as underground armories and dungeons, stockades and plantations reportedly spending nearly 10,000 platinum ingots on the project summarily flooding the economy with stockpiled Aurora funds. Many living near the Everfrost mountains—having avoided major conflict and living relatively untouched by the Empire grew uneasy with this expansion and the enlistment of their sons and daughters in the Aurora armies planting the seed that would soon grow into a large schism between the empire and the so called “Sterling People”. Soon a man by the name of Gulveig Silverfist rose his gauntlet and with an army to his back in support led a conquest against the Empire to reclaim the Everfrost. The first Battle of which occurred at Fallensnow (later renamed Deathbell). Silverfist won the battle and gathered even more support when many of the Empire’s forces joined his cause—the remaining twelve Empire soldiers were put to death. Now every time the tower bell strikes noon it is a moment to reflect on these deaths and wish these fallen foes harmony despite their actions. Silverfist then forged an alliance with Goblintooth which was one of the larger armed outposts constructed by Rellan and was a major blow to the Empire. with this new aid Silverfist’s army marched and captured Mosscrown away from the Empire before gaining even more aid and support through an alliance with Lycalopex—a Foxxyn village. Rellan Aurora had one son Rol. Rellan died at the age of 83 in 378 AD and was seceded by Rol. The Everfrost Revolt Rol Aurora became High King in the midst of the Revolt and was left defenseless as his vaults were diminished and more and more of his army joined the opposing side, caught up in Silverfist’s charm and wild spirit.Silverfist gathered even more Foxxyn aid from Foa and then marched on Starhold—where they experienced their first defeat though Rol had no involvement and was in fact shocked by the victory. Undeterred The Sterling Army, as it was now known, swept Skulkfang - another Foxxyn village-to their side. Followed by an appeal at Crystalmill to gain their aid which they did not receive though they were granted access to all surrounding lands except for Crystalmill’s city limits which they accepted. The Sterling Army captured Black Acre ( and met with leaders at Whitecourt for their support but were instead escorted from the city. A similar event occurred in Wildeholt only months later followed by another defeat when a raid on Deepston failed. Rol decided that this was a good time to finally defeat the rebels and so he sent his army to capture Goblintooth. The Battle at Goblintooth lasted weeks when finally the Sterling Army drove the Aurora Army back. The news of the defeat came on the heels of the birth of Rol’s first son Kylerion and greatly soured the event. After this battle Gulveig was invited to Splinterfang where its leader Orcun Leaftail lent his support of the war effort and helping the Sterling Army gather mages to their front lines in order to repel and conjure large scale attacks. In 389 AD Silverfist’s Army launched an attack on Nightflicker one of the remaining Aurora sympathizers in the Everfrost region. in only one week’s time the Sterling Army had driven the Nightflame Assassins from their beds and began occupying the city. The birth of Rol’s second son, Eldon, was soured by this news. Rol then delivered a hefty sum to both the Nightflame Assassins as well as a half-fiend warlord by the name of Ilroth Narok to end this war. The Nightflame Assassins immediately drove Silverfist’s soldiers from Nightflicker and made no further action in order to end the war effort. Enraged Rol sent a large garrison of his personal troops to pressure the Assassins to continue advancing on the Sterling warfront. The Nightflame Assassins in response sent 545 crates back to Urrea-one for every soldier Rol sent. Ilroth meanwhile with his fiery wings quickly killed many of the Sterling forces camped at both Foa (392 AD) and Splinterfang (393 AD) even capturing Orcun in a Vedalken Cage—bringing him with him as his personal “pet”. In 394 AD the Sterling Army attacked Jareth but Ilroth easily defeated them causing them to flee back to Gulveig’s hometown of Boodfrost. Silverfist consolidated his army and supplies there and waited even as Aurora forces reclaimed their territories. Finally in 396 AD came Ilroth brandishing the Sword of Kas, with Aurora forces at his back. Ilroth launched the attack flying into the center of town where Gulveig Silverfist stood waiting surrounded by seven others-each of them only wearing a burlap tunic. The town was deserted other than these eight figures and Ilroth now. Only Ilroth and the other eight truly know what happened during the battle within the city walls though it was described later as including loud roaring noises and bright explosions of light in the sky. Ilroth was killed in the fray while the many of the Sterling Army had donned their old Aurora armor and infiltrated the approaching army. while others waited until the army was at the gates to climb from within a hidden ice cavern and attack from behind. The Aurora Army was outmatched and many surrendered. The Birth of Sterling Fields A month later Rol surrendered and was escorted to the gates of Bloodfrost where he signed a Truce with Gulveig Silverfist gifting The Sterling Realm with all previously conquered land and no further attacks from the Aurora Empire. Rol returned to Urrea his vaults nearly empty and clusters of dissent throughout the kingdom and so he entered into yet another illicit agreement, this time with a notorious drug lord and gang leader by the name of Boronte of Valkane. This allowed him a monopoly on Sklug in return for 10% of the profits and aid in ending further uprisings. Boronte agreed and the contract remains in effect to this day. Ilroth’s Legacy Before Ilroth’s death in 396 AD, he and his human wife Ashley had two children; one son named Eli and one daughter named Ecarna. At the time of Ilroth’s death, Eli was 22 and Ecarna was 14. Eli, his mother and his younger sister went into hiding to protect themselves from hostile outsiders and extremists—using illusion spells in order to blend in and hide their more distinctive features. Then they moved to Splinterfang, where Eli spent time working at both the Highstone Archives and the Silver Forge—while Ecarna was enrolled in the Highstone Academy of Arcane Enchanting. Eli—eight years Ecarna’s senior—had a brilliant mind and studied ancient texts extensively as well as creating innovative new weapons and enchantments at the Silver Forge. At the age of twenty five—after cross referencing his father’s journal and a few texts about demonic bloodlines he learned that his grandfather was a powerful demon by the name of Marax. Meanwhile, Ecarna was a brilliant student but showed signs of corruption. Orcun was never fooled by the illusion spell and knew exactly who and what Ecarna was. However despite his own past with her father, Orcun decided to give her an equal chance and simply watched her actions closely, never trusting her despite the praise she received from others. One day Ecarna read her older brother’s notes and learned of her powerful demonic ancestry. She had always craved to have her father back in her life and now knew that if she ever found her grandfather that he could aid her to resurrect her father’s fallen soul from the Veil of Volitonox. She began researching the few mentions of Infernal runes and Shadow magic mentioned in the tomes from the Highstone Archives and in doing so unlocked latent magic that she was able to command with the blood in her veins. One of these tomes mentioned an ancient relic located at the top of Highstone Citadel that could create powerful artifacts that acted as lenses to focus a sorcerer’s soul and amplify their abilities. Taking this into account, she began testing her abilities as she planned the logistics required in order to raise her father from the dead. Orcun discovered Ecarna with a small tawny rabbit; controlling its limbs with incantations and bending its mind, its eyes devoid of life, blood dripping from its nose. Orcun immediately cast Ecarna out of the Highstone Academy immediately and informed Eli and Ashley that he knew of their ties to Ilroth and of Ecarna 's recent activities. Ecarna and Eli became enraptured in a fight which only ended when Eli dragged her kicking and screaming to her room and magically sealed her inside. In the dead of night Ecarna grew furious and unleashed a massive psychic explosion—destroying one of her walls. She escaped into the street and headed towards the Academy. She clambered to the top of Highstone Citadel and sliced her flesh and pooled her blood into the Arcane Basin. The blood blackened and congealed a flash of violet exploded atop the portico and a polished multifaceted black stone remained. She lifted it from within the basin. A thundercloud brewed all around her and she fled into the darkened forest. Eli armed himself and tracked the thunderstorm until he came to a long ruined castle. The tall iron door was already twisted ajar and so he let himself in. he traveled throughout the corridors until he came across a room with crimson light bleeding out into the hallway from within. He burst open the door and watched as a massive horned figure with a red hide and wearing only a large loin cloth clawed his way out from within the floor. He loomed over Ecarna 's unmoving body. Marax spoke in darkened guttural tones “Hello grandson, what are your intentions—have you come to meet your grandfather, or is it something else you seek?” Eli drew his twin legendary shadow weapons—Donner and Blitzen and attacked immediately, bolts of lightning arced across the room and struck Marax who stumbled backwards towards the churning portal from which he arrived. Eli ran across the stone floor and Marax struck him. He went sailing through the air and crashed into a wall. Eli sent forth yet another blitz of electricity but Marax brushed it off easily and grabbed Eli in one hand, pressing his thumb into Eli’s ribs forcing the air from his lungs then he dropped Eli into the portal. With Eli’s last shreds of energy he cast a simple entity reversal enchantment on himself. Marax upon looking upon Eli triggered the trap and the magic went to work immediately phasing Eli from his point in space and transferring it to where Marax was and vice versa. Eli cast a complex binding trap and collapsed against a wall and fell into a deep sleep. When Eli awoke Ecarna's body was no longer there and a deep echoing voice called from within the shimmering portal asking to be “unbound in return for mercy”. Eli simply sprinted from within the Fortress in order to search for his sister—he never found her and eventually returned to Splinterfang to his mother. He later married Sheira—a travelling merchant’s daughter—and had a son, Embry, in 400 AD. Then Eli’s mother, Ashley, died in 404 AD. External Canon Acquisitions Incorporated Neverwinter (video game) Catherine (video game) Rulebooks Player Handbook 1 Player Handbook 2 Player Handbook 3 Dungeons and Dragons: Simplified Handbook Fun Stuff Fun Stuff